by Kiki Swinson
“I am so mad at myself for wasting my time with him.”
“Don’t beat yourself up, baby. You had to get to this place you’re in right now, so you make the best decision for your life.”
“But why couldn’t he do right by me? I’m a good woman, Mommy.”
“I know, baby.”
“I swear, I regret the day I met him.”
“I told you not to beat yourself up. It’s not your fault. You sacrificed a lot of yourself for this man. And the fact that he doesn’t appreciate you is sickening.”
Listening to my mother tell me how great I was touched my heart. And she was right, I wasn’t being appreciated. Reese hadn’t shown me any gratitude for a long time. But yet and still, I stuck it out with him. I lied to my parents from day one about how great my relationship with Reese was. They knew I was lying, but they left it alone. They even rode with me after I married Reese. My father paid for the bulk of the wedding expenses at the last minute, when a couple of Reese’s checks bounced. I was mortified, but like the great man my father is, he stepped in and made everything right.
“Who are you talking to?” I heard my dad ask my mother. I could tell that he had just walked into the room.
“Mom, do not tell Dad it’s me,” I whispered through the receiver as if my father could hear me talking.
“You know I don’t lie to your father,” my mother replied.
I swear, I was so fucking pissed off that my mother threw me under the bus like that. “Really, Mom? That’s what we’re doing?” Here I was, trying to have a heart-to-heart with her, and as soon as my dad walked into the house she started getting all righteous and shit. Ugh! She was such a fucking sucker for my father.
“Is that Dawn?” I heard my father say.
“Yes, Joe.”
“What’s wrong now?” my father continued to pry.
“Mom, I’m hanging up now,” I replied sarcastically. And before she could say another word I disconnected our call. I was so irritated that my mother sold me out like that. She ain’t gonna like it, but I’m putting her on ice for these next couple of days.
39
REESE
Ten minutes into the drive away from my grandmother’s house, I picked up my cell phone four times, intending to call Dawn. But each time I decided against it. I figured that it was too soon to try to talk to her, and my feeling of rejection weighed on me too heavily.
While I had my cell phone in hand, it started ringing. When I look at the caller ID I saw the call was coming from Norfolk International Terminal. I answered it on the second ring because I knew it was my manager calling.
“Hello,” I said.
“Reese Spencer?”
“Yes.”
“My name is Bradley Nelson and I am a US Customs agent at NIT.”
“How can I help you?”
“I’m sure you heard that the Immigration Unit and our field office are investigating the recent discovery of seven Asian refugees that were found dead in two of NIT’s metal containers.”
“Yeah, heard about it. What’s up?”
“As you know, we are interviewing everyone that works third shift at NIT. We’re gonna need you to come down to the terminal so we can interview you.”
“I called in and told my manager that I was sick, so can this wait until I come back to work?”
“No, I’m afraid not. We’d appreciate it if you can come down here within the next hour.”
“What happens if I say no?”
“Then we will show up at your house and escort you back down to NIT ourselves.”
“From the tone of your voice I feel threatened.”
“Mr. Spencer, we’re only trying to do our job. And if you make it hard for us to do that, that will make your life hard.”
“Yeah, whatever. I’ll be down there in thirty minutes.”
“Well, I guess I’ll see you then.”
Instead of replying, I hung up my cell phone. I can’t lie when I say that I was scared shitless. I thought I could avoid this investigation at least a couple more days. But the US Customs agents had another plan for me.
The drive to NIT was dreadful. I wanted to turn my car around and go back home at least six times. But then I thought, what good is that going to do me? Agent Nelson sounded like an asshole, so I knew if I didn’t show up he was gonna do exactly what he said he would. And I couldn’t have that. So, I prepared for what I was going to say when I saw him.
It was obvious that he was going to have me by the balls when he found out my role in this botched human trafficking scheme, so my only choice in the matter was to tell him the truth. This might help my chances of not going to jail. And I would soon find out.
When I arrived at NIT, I parked my car in the parking lot in my normal spot. Like clockwork, everyone who worked the third shift always parked in the same spot, so when I did the same I didn’t recognize any of the cars there. It felt like I was here by myself. And it seemed like it all happened overnight: No Edward. No Todd. No Brian. And no Gene. It was just me.
I got out of my car and walked to the main building, which was where Immigration and US Customs agents were housed. My stomach felt like it had over a dozen knots jumping around with no place to go. I gave myself a pep talk. “Calm down, Reese, you can do this.”
Right before I entered the building, I took a deep breath and then I exhaled. “Just be honest and candid and you’ll get through this.”
Upon entering the building, I walked up to the receptionist’s desk and told the woman sitting behind it that my name was Reese Spencer and that I was there to see Agent Nelson.
“Take a seat, and I will let him know that you are here,” the older Caucasian woman said.
I took a seat in the waiting area. I tried to rehearse what I was gonna say, but I was thrown off track when I saw a black man, dressed semi-casual, escorting Gene Harris to the area of the building where I was sitting. Gene didn’t see me. But I saw him shake the guy’s hand and walk off. At that very moment, I was paralyzed. One part of me wanted to run away as fast as I could, but then the other part of me convinced me to stay, because I figured since Gene had already talked to the agent, he had one leg up on me. He might even have a get-out-of-jail-free card. Whatever he had, he got it before I did, so now was the time for me to look out for me. Fuck everyone else. I was not going to jail for the rest of these niggas, and they would soon find out about it.
As Gene walked away from the agent, I had to let him know that I was there and that I saw him. Niggas always want to be slick. But I saw him. “Gene, what’s up? I’ve been trying to get in touch with you,” I yelled across the lobby as I stood up.
When Gene looked at me, he acted like he’d seen a ghost, and to put icing on the cake, the nigga just waved me off like I was a groupie or something. I laughed it off. I wasn’t gonna let that nigga piss me off. I was just appreciative that I saw where he was coming from. It’s every man for himself.
After Gene walked off, that same guy that escorted him started walking over to where I was standing. When he got within arm’s reach, he extended his hand. “Reese Spencer?” he asked.
“Yeah, I’m Reese Spencer,” I said, extending my hand for him to shake, even though I know he already knew who I was. His handshake was very firm. He instructed me to follow him down the hall.
“I’m gonna take you to our conference room,” he told me.
“All right, cool,” I said. But I was a nervous wreck. Here this guy was, acting normal like we were going to have a casual conversation, but I knew that if he could slap the handcuffs on me right now, he would.
“Want anything to drink? Coffee? Tea?” he offered right after we entered the conference room.
“No, I’m fine, thank you.” I took a seat in a chair next to the conference room door. I figured if I sat there I wouldn’t have far to walk when I was ready to leave.
“All right. Give me a second to round up my other partner and the agents from Immigration and I will be right bac
k,” he assured me.
As soon as he left, my heart took a nosedive into the pit of my stomach. Was I making the right choice by coming here to talk to these guys without an attorney? Dawn said I needed an attorney. But how could I afford one now? I’ll tell you what, after I give these guys the information they need, it will be smooth sailing. Once all of this is over, I will prove to Dawn that I am right and she is wrong.
I sat in the conference room for at least three minutes before I was joined by a total of four agents. There were two agents from Immigration standing before me and two more agents from US Customs. All four of them introduced themselves to me and shook my hand. Agent Nelson’s investigative partner’s name was Agent Campbell and the two agents from Immigration were Agent Miles and Agent Scott.
“All right, Mr. Spencer,” Agent Nelson started off, “I told you to come in today because we are investigating the human trafficking case that started a couple days ago. And it is imperative that we all rally around each other so we can get through this and figure out what went wrong,” he continued.
“So, what do you need to know from me?” I asked him.
“We need to know what you know. We need to know what happened the night the containers came in. We already know who pulled them off the ship, so all we need to know is who moved them to the wrong location of the pier and why,” Agent Nelson said.
“Is that what Gene told you?”
“Don’t let our interview with Gene distract you from giving your side of the story,” Agent Nelson replied. “Now we’re going to start recording this entire interview, so if you need some time to answer our question, just say so, because we will not turn this recorder off until the interview is finished. Do you follow me?”
“Yes, I do. But can I ask you a question?” I said.
“I’m listening.”
“What am I going to get for my statement? I mean, I know how this thing works. Something illegal happens and whoever talks to the cops first and gives them what they asked for, y’all give ’em a get-out-of-jail-free card. So, I was thinking, would I be able to apply for one of those?”
“I don’t know about a get-out-of-jail-free card, but I’m sure we can come up with something, just as long as you haven’t killed someone.”
“Oh, hell no! I’m not into that.”
“Well, then you should be okay. I’m turning on the recorder now.” Agent Nelson started off. “My name is Agent Nelson and today is April 10, 2018. The time is 1:23 in the afternoon, and I am conducting an interview in an effort to solve the case involving seven Asian refugees who died while traveling from Korea inside a metal container. I have Reese Spencer at this interview because he is a person of interest. I also have Agents Miles, Campbell, and Scott, who may chime in as needed. Anyone have any questions?” Agent Nelson said.
“No,” said Agents Campbell and Miles.
“I don’t have any questions either,” Agent Scott replied.
“Great. So, Mr. Spencer, can you tell us what were you doing on the night of April 8, 2018, after you clocked in to begin your workday?” Agent Nelson began.
“Well, after I clocked in I headed over to my station on the pier and met up with Edward, Brian, Gene, and Todd.”
“What did you do after you met them?”
“Well, Edward pulled all of us into a huddle and told us that he ran into a Chinese guy named Que Ming who said he’d pay each of us fifteen thousand dollars if we helped take two containers off the ship. So Ed took the money and told him that we’d do it.”
“Was this the group’s first job?”
“No. This was the second time we did it.”
“What do you know about Que Ming?”
“I don’t know shit about him except that he owns a few Chinese restaurants and a few charter buses that drive back and forth from here to New York.”
“Do you know where he lives?”
“Nah, I don’t.”
“So, what was your job in his whole operation?”
“Well, after Ed took the containers off the ship, it was my job to take the containers over to the railroad car, so that’s what I did.”
“Did anything unusual happen?”
“I don’t understand what you mean by that,” I told him. It sounded like he was trying to trip me up.
“What happened after you picked up the containers and moved them?”
“Nothing, I just moved them,” I said, but I knew where he was going with this. He wanted me to confess to seeing people trying to escape out of the container.
“So, you didn’t see any of the immigrants while you were moving the containers to the other side of the pier?”
“Oh, that’s what you’re talking about?” I tried playing dumb. “Yeah, I did see a couple of them escaping.”
“How many were there?”
“Two.”
“Two men, women, what?”
“I think they were men. Remember, it was dark, so I couldn’t really get a good look at their physical attributes.”
“Are you sure you saw two?”
“Yes, I’m sure.”
“Okay, well, tell me what you did after you saw them trying to escape.”
“I called Ed first and told him what was going on and that I was going to need some help. He told me okay. A few minutes later, Brian came over to where I was and helped me round those two people up. I managed to get one of the escapees back in the container, but Brian didn’t have so much luck.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“What I’m saying is that while Brian was trying to catch that other guy, he made the mistake of choking him to death.”
“Did you see him choking that guy to death?”
“No, I didn’t see him in the act. But when I saw him dragging the man’s lifeless body back to the railroad cars, I asked him what happened. And that’s when he told me.”
“What happened next?”
“Well, we knew that he wasn’t going to be able to put the man’s body back into the container, so he figured that hiding the body somewhere on the terminal would be a better idea, and so he did it. And by the time he decided to do it, Gene had come over to where we were and helped Brian hide the body.”
“Did you see Gene hide the body with Brian?”
“No, but I saw Gene as he helped Brian carry the body toward the front gate of the terminal.”
“After catching that one Asian fellow, why did you put him back into the container?”
“Because that’s where he came from.”
“It didn’t occur to you that what you were doing was illegal?”
“You mean taking the containers to the railroad cars? Or making the guy get back into the container?”
“Both. But the most severe is the one when you made that person get back into the container.”
“What was I supposed to do? Make him get in my truck and take him home with me?”
“No. You were supposed report this whole operation to us.”
“Come on, now, I don’t know where you’re from, but where I’m from, snitches get stitches.”
“But you’re in here with us now.”
“That’s because you told me to come down here.”
“Don’t bullshit us, Reese! You came down here because you’re trying to save yourself from going to jail.”
“Did you give this same spiel to Gene while he was in here spilling his guts to you?”
“I told you before, don’t let Gene’s presence here distract you. We’re talking to you. No one else right now,” Agent Nelson scolded me. “Now, tell us where that fifteen thousand dollars is.”
“I never got it.”
“What do you mean, you never got it?”
“Edward told us that as soon as the job was done, Mr. Ming was going to pay us.”
“That’s not what we heard.”
“What did you hear?”
“We heard that Mr. Cuffy gave all of you guys five thousand dollars up front for this last job and that
you were going to get the rest of the money owed to you when the job was completed. Is that true?”
“Yeah, that’s how it was supposed to happen,” I agreed.
“Tell me Todd Dale’s role in this operation,” Agent Nelson said.
I thought for a moment and then I said, “Well, he didn’t do anything really. He uses the same machine as Edward does, so he was working down at the other end of the ship.”
“Did he take the five thousand that Edward passed out to everyone?”
“Yes.”
“And have you talked to him since this investigation started?”
“Yes, I talked to him a couple of times.”
“What did you guys talk about?”
“I called him first and asked him had he heard from Ed, because Ed was supposed to meet me and give me the rest of my money, but he didn’t show up. And Todd said that he was waiting to see Ed too.”
“You do know that Mr. Cuffy is dead, right?” Agent Nelson said.
“Yeah, I do. So, the second time I talked to Todd he asked me did I know about the murder, and I told him that my wife had just told me about it.”
“What else did he say?”
“Nothing. That’s it.”
“How was Todd’s relationship with Mr. Cuffy?”
“Look, man, everybody was cool with everybody. None of us was beefing before this thing happened or after. We just wanted to get paid. That’s it.”
“When was the last time you spoke with Brian Butler?”
“Not since he and Gene disposed of that man’s body. I tried calling him a couple of times, but his cell phone keeps going to voicemail.”
“Where is the money that Edward gave you?”
“I took it to a gambling spot and blew it. I thought since I wasn’t getting the other ten grand, I might as well try to make up for it in a couple hands of poker.”
“You’re saying you gambled all of that money up?”
“Yes, I did.”
“Did your wife know about the human trafficking operation?”
Before I answered this fool’s question I looked at him like he had just bumped his damn head. Did he really think I was going to throw my wife under the bus? Was he fucking stupid? Whether he knew it or not, I knew how this game was being played. If I confessed that I told Dawn about it beforehand, then she’d become an accomplice. And I couldn’t have that. They might throw her ass in jail or hit her in the head with over ten years of probation and make her pay a whole bunch of restitution. So, the answer was no. She had no knowledge of my involvement nor did she know that the ship was coming in with the Asian people on it.